Porn Week: Diana Devoe - Ladies First
There are typically no mainstream accolades for milestones reached in the adult entertainment industry. Despite a select few stars achieving crossover status, dont look for a breakout of approval among the establishment. Even as a billion dollar plus entity, America just isnt ready to embrace pornographyat least while the sun is shining.
The individuals that comprise the industry are well aware of this and deal with the criticism accordingly. In the unique case of the black pornographer, the scrutiny and scorn sometimes cuts in more ways than one. Not only do black stars and starlets have little chance at achieving crossover status, but the very industry theyve given their bodies to can seem so unappreciative at times. And though there have been several firsts for blacks in the adult industry, theyre not likely to make anybodys Whos Who list during Black History Month.
Diana Devoe is one such pioneer in the industry. Not content with the work she was getting from others, the nine-year vet and college graduate made her own wayearning the distinction of first black female porn director in the process. DX caught up with Ms. Devoe and got her thoughts on shady business practices, giving others opportunities she didnt have, and why making good movies is more satisfying than making good money.
HipHopDX: One of the things people always want to know is, What does your family think about what you do?
Diane Devoe: My dad is actually sitting on the sofa right behind me. This is his second year at the convention, so [my parents] know what I do. I didnt come in after college because I didnt want to have a real job. I thought there was an openingno pun intendedfor me in this business. I wanted to elevate black porn, which I think Ive been able to do in my own small way, if only to give new girls very good advice so they dont go through the same pitfalls I did. You have your crack heads, and you have people being pimped, but you have that element everywhere. I dont care if youre a nurse or a teacher, whatever. Theres going to be an element thats not as good as whats on top. It is a stereotype, but it comes from somewhere. Im not like that, and there are people here to work to make this better than the way we found it.
DX: Can you talk about some of those pitfalls for black actresses?
Diane Devoe: The biggest thing is the lack of self worth. If youre a black American who grew up in America, you are not the standard of beauty. Black men have it a little bit better because dark skinned men are in right now; youve got black sex symbols. We as females dont have that. Were told were not as good, were ugly, were going to make half as much as white girls. When you hear that over and over it tends to be true. Especially when you look around this industry and you can count on one hand the number of black women who you see on these walls or in the AVN magazine. Youre thinking Ok, Im not as good so I cant ask for anything. If I cant ask for anything why should I come with my weave done or my nails right or my shoes matching? Then they look at us and ask Well, how come your weave isnt done? Youre only paying me half of what youre paying the white girls. Thats why the white girls have the good weave and we dont. Its a vicious cycle and the way to combat it is to put yourself in a situation always where youre not depending on anyone. Not your agent, not your boyfriend.
DX: Howd you get around that?
Diane Devoe: I got over it by diversification. Ive always shot in front of and behind the camera. Ive done mainstream stuff, I do music videos, I write scripts, Ive run my own web sites, weve got two now. Its not just about waiting by the phone for somebody to hire me. I cant live my life like that. I dont think anybody should.
DX: And you were one of the first black female directors?
Diane Devoe: The first black female director.
DX: What made you want to get into directing?
Diane Devoe: When I was in college, I fell in love with production. I wanted to take it further. I thought Id be a big fish in a small pond in this business instead of trying to go to DreamWorks or United Artists asking for $20 million for a feature film. Im not saying that I wouldnt want to do that, but I like the autonomy of this business. When I do my features, Im the boss; I dont have to answer to anybody.
DX: Being the first black woman to direct, what have you brought to this business thats different from other directors?
Diane Devoe: Ive tried to bringand keepclass and decorum on the set. I dont like the way a lot of people treat the talent on set. Were not animals. I think if I can keep everybody laughing, smiling, and having a good time, ultimately the consumer will enjoy the product more because they can see that everybody is enjoying what theyre doing. And its sex! Youre supposed to look like youre enjoying it.
DX: What types of films do you like to shoot?
Diane Devoe: I like to shoot features. The ones with the beginning, middle, and end. I dont get a lot of them because gonzothe kind where you just [get straight to the sex]is cost effective for most people. I do a lot more of that than features. I make less money on features, but Id love to do them 24/7 if I could.
DX: Are you still performing or are you exclusively behind the scenes?
Diane Devoe: I am behind the scenes. I never say never. I hate those girls that say, Im retired and this business sucks, and then a month later, theyre breaking their backs. Im not going to say Im retired, but itd take a lot [for me to perform again].
The reason I like doing features is because I like to especially give black girls the opportunities that I didnt have. To have sex in the rain. I have a rain machine. I have all the stuff I wouldve wanted to be shot in. I can write things for them and have them perform and still get the notoriety.
DX: What prompted your temporary retirement or sabbatical from in front of the camera?
Diane Devoe: People in this businessthe people in chargecannot conceive of one person taking two slots. I was either a performer or a director. Some people are able to do both; I was not. Whenever I was performing, they didnt look at me as a director, and I had to make a choice. I enjoy performing. But, how many times can you do the same stuff? How many times can you do Booty Talk? Its not going to enrich anything. When I wasnt getting the parts I wanted I decided to make my own movies.
DX: There are a lot more women performing in front of and behind the camera; do you think you played a role in that?
Diane Devoe: Id like to think myself, Vanessa Blue, and a few other people have paved the way for other females to say, It can happen. Not to make the comparison but, little kids now who are black can say, Oh, I can be president. Its very powerful when you can see somebody that looks like you doing something you never thought you could do. I just hope Im bringing that to the table.
DX: Ive talked to a lot of black performers that mention the racism in the industry. Have things gotten better since youve been in the game?
Diane Devoe: Theyve gotten worse. Theyve gotten more divisive. Part of that is that us as black people have no solidarity. Were always kind of backstabbing at each other. The men have issues with certain women that are not black not wanting to work with black guys or saying this one is too ghetto or too this or that. As a whole, black men fair better than black women. They can work more scenes in a movie; they can work more years than we can. They dont have it as bad.
Black women, there is nothing for us. Most of the companies that shot black women consistently are not doing very well right now. Not because black women arent marketable, but because of poor management. I know of a company where their black on black porn is making the most money, but they use that money to finance white features that dont sell.
DX: One of the big complaints I hear about black porn is about the lack of quality, is that still an issue?
Diane Devoe: It is. As a class of people, were looked at as second class citizens very openly. Youre not going to find this on a Hollywood set. Youre not going to find this kind of treatment because the NAACP is going to be up in [a studios] face. When it comes to porn, we really dont have any social recourse. If we go out and say this person called me a nigger, theyre going to be like Well, bitch you were not supposed to be in front of that camera anyway. Based on the black community being in the church and what not, this is not looked at as a positive thing for us to be in, so [others feel like] we deserve the treatment we get.
It has gotten worse. Everybody has gotten into the business that has a camera and two brain cells to rub together. They figure, Lets shoot these black girls because theyre cheap. And the black girls do come cheap. Then they shoot cheap product and all this cheap product is flooding the stores. It makes the prices go down and the consumer is unhappy.
DX: Does that affect your product at the end of the day?
Diane Devoe: It doesnt affect our bottom line. Weve kept our wholesale price point. We will not go lower. If you dont want our product, thats fine. If you want this lesser grade product you can have it. Usually, people come back to us.
DX: What should we keep an eye out for?
Diane Devoe: Check us out on our websites, www.ItsABigBlackThing.com. Ill let you guys figure out what that means, and www.JohnEDepth.com. You can also hit John E on his MySpace at www. myspace.com/JohnEDepth. I do not have a MySpace, because Im the only person in America apparently who doesnt believe in MySpace. Im cool, I dont need a thousand friends, Im OK.
The individuals that comprise the industry are well aware of this and deal with the criticism accordingly. In the unique case of the black pornographer, the scrutiny and scorn sometimes cuts in more ways than one. Not only do black stars and starlets have little chance at achieving crossover status, but the very industry theyve given their bodies to can seem so unappreciative at times. And though there have been several firsts for blacks in the adult industry, theyre not likely to make anybodys Whos Who list during Black History Month.
Diana Devoe is one such pioneer in the industry. Not content with the work she was getting from others, the nine-year vet and college graduate made her own wayearning the distinction of first black female porn director in the process. DX caught up with Ms. Devoe and got her thoughts on shady business practices, giving others opportunities she didnt have, and why making good movies is more satisfying than making good money.
HipHopDX: One of the things people always want to know is, What does your family think about what you do?
Diane Devoe: My dad is actually sitting on the sofa right behind me. This is his second year at the convention, so [my parents] know what I do. I didnt come in after college because I didnt want to have a real job. I thought there was an openingno pun intendedfor me in this business. I wanted to elevate black porn, which I think Ive been able to do in my own small way, if only to give new girls very good advice so they dont go through the same pitfalls I did. You have your crack heads, and you have people being pimped, but you have that element everywhere. I dont care if youre a nurse or a teacher, whatever. Theres going to be an element thats not as good as whats on top. It is a stereotype, but it comes from somewhere. Im not like that, and there are people here to work to make this better than the way we found it.
DX: Can you talk about some of those pitfalls for black actresses?
Diane Devoe: The biggest thing is the lack of self worth. If youre a black American who grew up in America, you are not the standard of beauty. Black men have it a little bit better because dark skinned men are in right now; youve got black sex symbols. We as females dont have that. Were told were not as good, were ugly, were going to make half as much as white girls. When you hear that over and over it tends to be true. Especially when you look around this industry and you can count on one hand the number of black women who you see on these walls or in the AVN magazine. Youre thinking Ok, Im not as good so I cant ask for anything. If I cant ask for anything why should I come with my weave done or my nails right or my shoes matching? Then they look at us and ask Well, how come your weave isnt done? Youre only paying me half of what youre paying the white girls. Thats why the white girls have the good weave and we dont. Its a vicious cycle and the way to combat it is to put yourself in a situation always where youre not depending on anyone. Not your agent, not your boyfriend.
DX: Howd you get around that?
Diane Devoe: I got over it by diversification. Ive always shot in front of and behind the camera. Ive done mainstream stuff, I do music videos, I write scripts, Ive run my own web sites, weve got two now. Its not just about waiting by the phone for somebody to hire me. I cant live my life like that. I dont think anybody should.
DX: And you were one of the first black female directors?
Diane Devoe: The first black female director.
DX: What made you want to get into directing?
Diane Devoe: When I was in college, I fell in love with production. I wanted to take it further. I thought Id be a big fish in a small pond in this business instead of trying to go to DreamWorks or United Artists asking for $20 million for a feature film. Im not saying that I wouldnt want to do that, but I like the autonomy of this business. When I do my features, Im the boss; I dont have to answer to anybody.
DX: Being the first black woman to direct, what have you brought to this business thats different from other directors?
Diane Devoe: Ive tried to bringand keepclass and decorum on the set. I dont like the way a lot of people treat the talent on set. Were not animals. I think if I can keep everybody laughing, smiling, and having a good time, ultimately the consumer will enjoy the product more because they can see that everybody is enjoying what theyre doing. And its sex! Youre supposed to look like youre enjoying it.
DX: What types of films do you like to shoot?
Diane Devoe: I like to shoot features. The ones with the beginning, middle, and end. I dont get a lot of them because gonzothe kind where you just [get straight to the sex]is cost effective for most people. I do a lot more of that than features. I make less money on features, but Id love to do them 24/7 if I could.
DX: Are you still performing or are you exclusively behind the scenes?
Diane Devoe: I am behind the scenes. I never say never. I hate those girls that say, Im retired and this business sucks, and then a month later, theyre breaking their backs. Im not going to say Im retired, but itd take a lot [for me to perform again].
The reason I like doing features is because I like to especially give black girls the opportunities that I didnt have. To have sex in the rain. I have a rain machine. I have all the stuff I wouldve wanted to be shot in. I can write things for them and have them perform and still get the notoriety.
DX: What prompted your temporary retirement or sabbatical from in front of the camera?
Diane Devoe: People in this businessthe people in chargecannot conceive of one person taking two slots. I was either a performer or a director. Some people are able to do both; I was not. Whenever I was performing, they didnt look at me as a director, and I had to make a choice. I enjoy performing. But, how many times can you do the same stuff? How many times can you do Booty Talk? Its not going to enrich anything. When I wasnt getting the parts I wanted I decided to make my own movies.
DX: There are a lot more women performing in front of and behind the camera; do you think you played a role in that?
Diane Devoe: Id like to think myself, Vanessa Blue, and a few other people have paved the way for other females to say, It can happen. Not to make the comparison but, little kids now who are black can say, Oh, I can be president. Its very powerful when you can see somebody that looks like you doing something you never thought you could do. I just hope Im bringing that to the table.
DX: Ive talked to a lot of black performers that mention the racism in the industry. Have things gotten better since youve been in the game?
Diane Devoe: Theyve gotten worse. Theyve gotten more divisive. Part of that is that us as black people have no solidarity. Were always kind of backstabbing at each other. The men have issues with certain women that are not black not wanting to work with black guys or saying this one is too ghetto or too this or that. As a whole, black men fair better than black women. They can work more scenes in a movie; they can work more years than we can. They dont have it as bad.
Black women, there is nothing for us. Most of the companies that shot black women consistently are not doing very well right now. Not because black women arent marketable, but because of poor management. I know of a company where their black on black porn is making the most money, but they use that money to finance white features that dont sell.
DX: One of the big complaints I hear about black porn is about the lack of quality, is that still an issue?
Diane Devoe: It is. As a class of people, were looked at as second class citizens very openly. Youre not going to find this on a Hollywood set. Youre not going to find this kind of treatment because the NAACP is going to be up in [a studios] face. When it comes to porn, we really dont have any social recourse. If we go out and say this person called me a nigger, theyre going to be like Well, bitch you were not supposed to be in front of that camera anyway. Based on the black community being in the church and what not, this is not looked at as a positive thing for us to be in, so [others feel like] we deserve the treatment we get.
It has gotten worse. Everybody has gotten into the business that has a camera and two brain cells to rub together. They figure, Lets shoot these black girls because theyre cheap. And the black girls do come cheap. Then they shoot cheap product and all this cheap product is flooding the stores. It makes the prices go down and the consumer is unhappy.
DX: Does that affect your product at the end of the day?
Diane Devoe: It doesnt affect our bottom line. Weve kept our wholesale price point. We will not go lower. If you dont want our product, thats fine. If you want this lesser grade product you can have it. Usually, people come back to us.
DX: What should we keep an eye out for?
Diane Devoe: Check us out on our websites, www.ItsABigBlackThing.com. Ill let you guys figure out what that means, and www.JohnEDepth.com. You can also hit John E on his MySpace at www. myspace.com/JohnEDepth. I do not have a MySpace, because Im the only person in America apparently who doesnt believe in MySpace. Im cool, I dont need a thousand friends, Im OK.
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